Hormuz Remains Open for Select Qatari LNG Cargoes
New tanker movements suggest LNG exports are still finding a path through one of the world's most closely watched energy chokepoints despite ongoing regional disruptions.
(Reuters) — A fifth Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker has transited the Strait of Hormuz with a cargo, ship-tracking data showed, bringing the total number of loaded LNG vessels to have exited the waterway since the war started to nine.
Controlled by QatarEnergy, the Al Daayen tanker was seen on ship-tracking data off the coast of Qatar around June 4-5, according to analytics firms Kper and LSEG. It reappeared on ship-tracking data on Monday that showed it east of the strait with the vessel indicating that it was heading for China.
According to Kper data, the tanker loaded a cargo at Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal on June 1.
Separately, a ballast LNG tanker has managed to enter the waterway again after delivering a shipment to India, according to analytics firm Vortexa.
Managed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the Al Hamra tanker had previously entered the strait to load a cargo at Das Island sometime between April 19 and May 23.
"In the UAE, satellite imagery confirmed that ADNOC's Al Hamra carrier was near the Das Island terminal late last week, having completed an inbound transit of the chokepoint," said Vortexa in a note late on Monday.
"The vessel last appeared on AIS (Automatic Identification System) on May 30 before its 'dark' inbound transit to reload – its second since April."
QatarEnergy and ADNOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of regular business hours.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28 has severely curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supply.
Before the war began, shipping traffic through the strait averaged 125 to 140 daily passages. About 20,000 seafarers remain stranded on hundreds of ships in the Gulf.